[5] FRESHWATER FISHERIES OF ICELAND. ,';27 



4 barrels of salmon had beeu caught, and there was no prospect that 

 many more would be caught during that season. 



From Laxamyri I paid a visit to Benedikt Sveiusoi], member of the 

 Assembly. Accompanied by him I visited the Eeyder Eiver and its 

 mouth, as well as the place where Mr. Sveiusou intends to start a hatch- 

 ery at the mouth of a side branch of the river, which he intends to have 

 dug. In olden times salmon are said to have gone uj) the Eeyder Eiver. 

 Since I have learned more regarding those streams in Iceland which 

 are adapted to the raising of salmon, I would not, at least for the pres- 

 ent, recommend that any attempt be made to stock the Eeyder Eiver 

 with young salmon. A hatching apparatus, however, migiit easily be 

 constructed, from which other waters might be supplied with salmon or 

 trout. 



Sigurdjon Johannesson accompanied me when I left his hospitable 

 and instructive farm, where I would gladh^ have remained several days. 

 He went with me as far as the MyrarkvisI, a stream which, above Laxa- 

 myri, on the right bank of the Laxa, flows into it. The MyrarkvisI is 

 said in former times to have been a good salmon river, and even now 

 some salmon occasionally enter it. It looks to me as if in course of 

 time the MyrarkvisI had gradually b<?come so blocked up by stones and 

 sand that the lish do not venture to enter it, or are actually prevented 

 from entering it. The middle bank mij^,ht be cut through, and proba- 

 bly also a portion of the grass-covered island which is found there ; and 

 the earth and stones which are dug out might be used for closing up 

 the northern and the southern channels. 



It can be observed that many of the Iceland streams have gradually 

 undergone changes of current and depth by inundations, ice, land- 

 slides, and other causes, which may have had an unfavorable influence 

 on the salmon. This circumstance should also be taken into con- 

 sideration in judging of a stream which formerly contained many 

 salmon, while now scarcely any are found. But, on the other hand, a 

 stream may, in course of time, become better adapted to salmon. Thus, 

 the earthquake of 1872 produced better conditions for salmon, espe- 

 cially for their ascent, in one of the eastern falls near Laxamyri. Thus 

 far but little attention has been paid in Iceland to the changes which 

 streams undergo in the course of years.. The time may come, however, 

 when in Iceland, as in countries where the streams have been con- 

 stantly watched, natural defects in the rivers will be remedied artifi- 

 cially, and when people will cease to go on reaping the harvest of the 

 water without ever contributing anything toward its increase. 



I followed the course of the Myrakvisl to its junction with the Helga, 

 which comes from'the warm springs near Uxahver. The temperature 

 of the Helga at the point where it flows into the Myrakvisl was 18^ 

 Celsius, while the temperature of the Myrakvisl was 13°, and at the 

 point where the waters met 15° while the temperature of the atmos- 

 phere was 11^°. 



